The IDF - A People's Army
Compiled by Israel HighWay staff

As the Israeli government prepares to implement its Disengagement Plan - the evacuation of Gazan and north Samaria settlements - the Israeli army finds itself under unprecedented political pressures. What role does the IDF play in Israeli society? Will the IDF's character change on the high-tech, specialized battlefield of today and tomorrow?

The Israel Defense Forces was formed in battle. Many characteristics of the IDF which are evident today, originated in the fighting of 1948: the total mobilization of the society behind the war effort, the constant introduction of new weapons and techniques during the fighting, and the need of young commanders to establish their authority by successful leadership. Many of Israel's national leaders, such as Yitzhak Rabin and Ariel Sharon, were military commanders before entering the political world.

Click here for special section: History of Israel Is the History of the IDF.

Today's Army Meets the Challenges

Meeting the terrorist threats of suicide bombers and protecting Jewish communities are on the top of the army's priorities today. But Israel's army also prides itself for its quick adaptation, improvisation, and response to all kinds of emergency. The IDF was called upon to free Jewish hostages from terrorists in Uganda in 1976, rescue Ethiopian Jews from the Sudan in 1984, bring life-saving rescue teams to an earthquake zone in Turkey in 1999, and fly aid supplies to tsunami victims in Asia in 2005.

At the same time, the IDF assumes the role of the great social integrator, receiving and training young new immigrants from the former Soviet Union, Ethiopia, New York or Argentina. In a country that has housed millions of Jewish immigrants and refugees from all over the world, one cannot overemphasize the role the army has played as a social leveler. People from all social, economic and political backgrounds perform military service side by side, with the same conditions and rights. Today, women are playing a larger role in all aspects of army life, including serving in air force and combat units.

The technology-driven Israel Defense Forces (IDF) of the twenty-first century is a far cry from the volunteer soldier farmers during the fight for Jewish independence in the Land of Israel in the 1940s. Then the founders of the IDF were so desperately short of resources that up until the 1950s, few senior commanders were paid, and most were in their early twenties and lived by growing their own food. The modern day IDF is the developer of the world's first high-energy laser weapon system capable of shooting down a rocket carrying a live warhead, and the pioneer of what is considered the world's most secure tank. The army's technological and research departments have contributed enormously to providing cutting-edge technology whose use is far wider than state-of-the-art weapons systems. Such units have made world-class breakthroughs in ballistic missile technology, electro-optics and other fields. Soldiers from these units are highly sought after in the hi-tech world and have gone on to adapt their experience from these units to use in household PCs, internet portals, wireless communication and even in cancer research. ( Machal 2000)

The IDF Now Faces an Internal Challenge

The Israel Army reflects Israel’s people, their goals and their national challenges. JTA’s Leslie Susser recently described the dilemma the IDF faces as the Government of Israel moves ahead in its plans to evacuate Gaza and areas in Samaria:

As the scheduled start of Israel's Gaza withdrawal approaches, settler leaders are raising the specter of mass refusal by religious soldiers to carry out orders and are warning of disastrous consequences for the Israeli army and society as a whole.

But high-ranking Israel Defense Forces officers say settler leaders are exaggerating in an attempt to scare the government and to encourage soldiers to refuse to evacuate settlers from their homes. The refusal controversy has sparked a national debate, at the heart of which is the issue of state sovereignty versus rabbinical authority. The debate raises worrying questions: If there is widespread civil disobedience and refusal to carry out army orders, will Israeli society be dangerously divided? Could such a rift scuttle the withdrawal plan? Settler leaders said that they themselves are against soldiers refusing to obey orders, but after rulings by settler rabbis excoriating Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's withdrawal plan and expressly forbidding soldiers to participate, thousands of religious soldiers probably would choose to obey their rabbis rather than their army commanders. (Jewish Telegraphic Agency)

On the other side of the debate, several rabbinic authorities have ruled that IDF soldiers must obey IDF orders, as painful as they may be. Last month Rabbi Norman Lamm of Yeshiva University, Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein of Yeshivat Har Etzion, and former Chief Rabbi Eliyahu Bakshi-Doron warned in an open letter that should soldiers heed calls for refusal of orders, they would "erode morale and discipline, endanger purposive unity, engender internecine strife, and embolden our enemies."

The letter was reported in Yeshiva College’s Commentator. "The [rabbis'] passion," the Commentator explained, had been fueled in the preceding weeks by statements from leading rabbis, including former Chief Rabbi Avraham Shapira, supporting the right of soldiers to refuse orders to carry out the PM's disengagement plan. (The Commentator)

Is the IDF Role Going to Change? [Excerpted from Azure, Save the Citizens' Army] The IDF worked not only to protect the country's territory and population, but also to absorb immigrants, to instill Zionist values, and to galvanize a spirited Israeli identity. This paradigm proved immensely successful over the first five decades of Israel's existence. In wartime, an effective division of labor enabled regular forces to hold the line for forty-eight hours until reserves could be mobilized. And aided by the belief that the army exemplified the Israeli ideal, successive waves of immigrants learned Hebrew and were integrated into Israeli society through their military service. Over the last two decades, however, the ideological foundation of the IDF - and with it Israelis' willingness to serve - has been eroded by a number of factors. Calls for reform mean well but fail to take into account the long-term benefits-strategic and societal-which the Jewish state gains from universal military service. It is the army, more than anything else, which has served to educate successive waves of immigrants about the needs and aims of the Jewish state, and to integrate them into Israeli society. The classic image of the IDF as "melting pot" was far more true then, and continues to be far more important today, than is fashionable to believe - as has been proven by the absorption in the last decade of Jews from Ethiopia and the former Soviet Union. The citizens' army also acts as the repository of some of our most cherished ideals-self-sacrifice, ingathering of exiles, equality. In an otherwise polarized society, the army is the one place in which Israelis from all walks of life - Sephardi and Ashkenazi, religious and secular, dove and hawk, rich and poor - join in a common cause. In this sense, the army is not, and has never been, merely a defense organization, but, much as David Ben-Gurion envisioned it, the embodiment of the Zionist ideal. ( Azure)

Additional Resources:

Israel's National Photo Collection
The History of the IDF
The Spirit, Values and Ethics of the IDF
The IDF Doctrine
Number of Muslim, Christian Arab Volunteers in IDF Growing (Ha'aretz)

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Sharon Congratulates Abbas in Phone Call

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon called Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday to congratulate him for his landslide victory in an election to replace Yasser Arafat, signaling Israel's readiness to work with the new Palestinian team after years of boycotting Arafat.

Both sides said a meeting will take place, but no date was set. Abbas' election victory on Sunday and Sharon's success this week in putting together a government that favors his plan to pull out of Gaza and part of the West Bank this summer have raised hope the two leaders can break through layers of mistrust built up over four years of Israeli-Palestinian violence. (AP/ABC News)

Israel at Forefront of Tsunami Relief Campaign by Leora Eren Frucht

The Israeli people have opened their hearts to the survivors of the tsunami disaster in Southeast Asia, and from government agencies to children in their neighborhoods, the country is making a significant contribution to the international relief effort. Israeli schoolchildren have been collecting non-perishable food and raising money, Israeli humanitarian organizations providing blood, supplies and aid, medical and forensics experts working on site, and the country has been utilizing its cutting-edge technology to expedite rescue and identification of the victims.

Beginning this week, the Israeli Campaign for Southeast Asia Disaster - spearheaded by IsraAID, the coordinating body of Israeli and Jewish NGOs - will be focusing efforts on feeding the survivors of the tsunami, first in Sri Lanka, and afterwards in other countries. In one program, Israeli schools will twin with Jewish schools worldwide, matching dollar for dollar contributions to be sent to help victims of Southeast Asia. (Israel21c)

Baltimore Students Help Israel's Terror Victims by Phil Jacobs and Mollie Scharfman

Avi Goldberg and Avi Staiman, both Yeshivat Rambam seniors, want everyone to eat well and to eat kosher on March 21. The more in Baltimore and around the nation who dine at a kosher restaurant that Monday, the better it will help victims of terrorism in Israel.

The project that they have organized along with Yeshivat Rambam students Mollie Scharfman, Shoshana Pachino, Adina Rosenblatt, and Michael Young is called America Eats for Israel.

The goal is for yeshivot and day schools across the country to recruit kosher restaurants in their area and have them donate 10 percent of their gross revenues for one day. This project started last year as Baltimore Eats for Israel and raised some $1,500. This year, the coordinating team of Avi Goldberg and Avi Staiman hopes the number they send to the Israel Terror Victims Association tens of thousands of dollars.

So far, the project has more than 80 restaurants signed on from 18 states including Maryland, New York, New Jersey, Georgia, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Iowa, Arizona and Virginia. (Baltimore Jewish Times)

Mollie Sharfman adds:

"We decided to go national with this project and involve other students who wanted to take action. With more people working for one common goal we would achieve even greater success." said regional director, Adina Rosenblatt. The first step of America Eats for Israel was to connect with Israel Action Committees in other high schools across the country; the response was overwhelmingly positive and within weeks over fifty schools nationwide had joined the program. "It's about time we started eating for Israel!" said Uri Rosenzweig of Ida Crown Jewish Academy in Chicago, Illinois.

Matan Flank of Fuchs Mizrachi School of Cleveland, Ohio was thrilled to jump on board; "America Eats for Israel is an excellent venue for every member of American Jewry to easily contribute to a worthy cause. Restaurant owners in Cleveland have shown their generosity and I know the Cleveland Jewish community will pull together for their fellow brothers in Israel." Debbi Razi of Robert M. Beren Academy of Houston, Texas said "America Eats for Israel gives high school students the opportunity to be proud of what they stand for. It also gives restaurant owners an easy way to help people in need." "Those restaurants who are willing to donate 10 % of their gross revenue are doing a selfless good deed," remarked Cary Schwechter of HAFTR High School in Cedarhurst, New York.

David Steibel, representative from the Jewish Academy of Metropolitan Detroit said, "I feel proud to be part of such an incredible fundraiser that supports such a deserving charity as the Terror Victims Association."

Click here to see participating schools. Is your school here yet?

Two Young Jews and Their Bracelets, Aiding the Jewish State Wrist by Wrist by Jodi Bodner DuBow

Now, brand new to the market, are the bright blue YAD CHAZAKA bracelets, being sold on Long Island's South Shore by Lauren Wilkowski and Gilad Katz, both of North Woodmere. It is hoped that proceeds from the bracelets, going for $1, will raise money for nonprofit organizations in Israel. The bracelets are a Bar and Bat Mitzvah chesed project for the two preteens.

Fred Wilkowski and Stuart Katz, the youngsters' fathers, were looking for chesed projects for their children just as their children were looking for LIVESTRONG bracelets, now hard to come by - or selling on eBay for $10 to $15. "I was sitting in the car, waiting for Lauren to come out of another store in her search for the yellow bracelet, and I thought to myself, Wouldn't it be wonderful to get the kids involved in doing something?" Wilkowski said. He conferred with Katz and they came up with the name, which means "strong hand," or "helping hand," and a few days later the order for 30,000 bracelets was placed. All of the proceeds from the sales of the bracelets will go to the participating organizations to support their continuing work on behalf of, and for the good of, Israel.

[See photo of Israeli basketball star Derek Sharp with his Yad Chazaka bracelet]

For more information, see http://www.yadchazaka.org.

Abbas Makes Peace Gesture to Israel by Mohammed Daraghmeh

Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas extended his hand in peace Monday, his first gesture toward Israel since his landslide victory in presidential elections.

His remarks added to the sense of optimism felt in the region since Abbas' election on Sunday. The victory, which capped a peaceful transition of power after the Nov. 11 death of Yasser Arafat, has raised hopes around the world that peace talks could soon resume.

"We extend our hands to our neighbors," Abbas declared late Monday after a meeting with international observers who monitored the election. "We are ready for peace, peace based on justice. We hope that their response will be positive." (Associated Press)

Change Of Heart by Sarah Sabshon

I did not grow up overly Zionistic and I had never been to Israel. It never even occurred to me to spend an entire year in Israel. Even though some of my peers spoke about the awaited year, I shrugged it off as a waste of time. I wanted to get on with my life, start college, and enter the real world. College presented the opportunity to break out of New York's Jewish bubble.

I am not quite sure what brought about my change of heart. It certainly was not a specific event but rather a gradual change. As I started to feel the pressure of junior year, I wondered what it would be like to spend one year without having to worry about tests or papers and just learn for the sake of absorbing new and exciting material. The more I thought about it, the more the idea made sense.

The students in my grade happen to be very Zionistic - most having grown up in families that pushed their love for Israel. No doubt their influence made me rethink my plans.

When the second intifada began in 2000, my parents were nervous about the possibility of a year in Israel. Since the beginning of high school we had been on two family trips to Israel; however, it was a different matter when it came to me going alone. Safety and unfamiliarity with the land were their primary concerns. Slowly, as my love for Israel increased, so too did theirs, and as I began to consider a year in Israel, they did too. In fact, one day my father came and spoke to me. He said that he and my mother supported the idea of me going to Israel; they thought it would be a unique opportunity to embrace and appreciate Judaism. They did not want to push it. It had to be my decision if I went and where I went.

My parents are pleased with my decision to go to Israel next year, but they have some definite concerns. Perhaps security is the primary issue. Another concern is the infamous "flipping out" phenomenon. I think that my parents are even more concerned with the possibility of my making aliyah since all the schools I applied to are very Zionistic. Finally, we all have to deal with the distance.

I am happy with my decision. It was not something my parents forced me to do and it was not something that I felt I needed to do. It was a choice that I have made freely. I have found that the closer I come to finishing my senior year of high school and entering my year in Israel, the more confident I feel that I have made the right decision. While I wait for my decision letters - which will arrive in late January - I know that whatever happens, next year will be a year to remember. (New York Jewish Week)

Sarah Sabshon is a senior at Ramaz Upper School, Manhattan. Her article appears as part of the Jewish Week's Fresh Ink for Teens. Click here for the full article.

American Students Get Used to a New Way of Eating in Israel by Lisa Huriash

Maayan Portal, 16, formerly of Plantation FL, is getting used to a whole new kosher diet in Israel, where she is a public boarding school student. "The boarding school makes a lot of food that I wasn't served in school in Florida," she says. Foods such as stuffed peppers and shnitzel.

"Not only do we have a cafeteria, but we have a little restaurant on the campus that sells great food. They have drinks, hamburgers, salads, pizza in a pita and a lot of Israeli foods such as shnitzel with fries and borekas," she tells us by e-mail.

She is among 1,800 students from 35 countries who are studying at the Elite Academy, a free three-year program for high school students who commit to spending 10th, 11th and 12th grade abroad. It is co-sponsored by the Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI). This year there were 28 U.S. students selected.

"I am a very picky eater, and I don't eat the shwarma and the falafel," says Talya Goldman, 16, about two popular Israeli foods. Still, she is enjoying learning about Israel as she samples local fare such as pomegranates, citrus fruits, figs, watermelons and grapes. "The best I think are the pomegranates," Portal says. "The best ones are the big, red, sweet ones. I also have grown to love couscous, which came from North Africa but is very popular in Israel. Also, falafel.

Since 1992, more than 10,000 high school students have attended the program; this is the first year the program was offered to American students, who are studying at more than 50 Elite Academy-affiliated day schools, boarding schools, yeshivas and kibbutz regional high schools throughout Israel. As the youngsters study Israel's language, history, archaeology and culture, they are also learning about being on their own.

"I decided to do this program because I love Israel so much, and I knew that it would make me a more independent person if I came here by myself," Goldman says.

For information about the Elite Academy visit www.israelprograms.org. (South Florida Sun-Sentinel)

Hadag Nahash Makes Israel Hip by Hilary Leila Krieger

Shaanan Streett, lead singer of Hadag Nahash, walks into the room and is mobbed by fans. In this case, the fans are all American. But thanks to the band's popularity - and particularly to that of "The Sticker Song" - Hillel students on a winter-break tour of Israel are connecting with a familiar personality. "The Sticker Song," a compilation by author David Grossman of many of the politically charged bumper stickers found in Israel, has been used as the basis for an American curriculum teaching about Israeli diversity, democracy, and difference of opinion. (Jerusalem Post)

See also Israeli Hip-Hop Star Makes an Unlikely Hero by Daphna Berman (Ha'aretz)
See also Translation of the "Sticker Song" and Educational Curriculum (Israel Center-San Francisco)

Bringing Israeli Soul to the U.S. by Viva Sarah Press

The Idan Raichel Project is gearing up for its first North American tour next month. In the U.S., February is Black History Month, and Israel's most popular dread-locked musician will try to give the African-American population a new perspective on what this country is all about. "I'm not going to lecture and tell people what they should or should not do," says Raichel. "I hope to give the Americans a window into the mixed culture here. I'm not black, yet the Ethiopians in the project and I work together. We succeed through music in intercommunication, whereas in Israeli society there are often reported differences between our two communities."

Raichel's music is a harmonious mix of Ethiopian and Hebrew melodies that evokes the sounds and colors of Israeli society. He is joined on stage by at least five musicians and backup singers whenever "the project" performs. "I combine forces with people who are proficient in all styles of music. My goal is to bring new music that people don't recognize."

The Idan Raichel Project will play to American college campuses next month in New York, Chicago, Detroit, Boston, Miami, Milwaukee and Washington.

Click to hear selection of the Idan Raichel Project

Our Test for Abu Mazen by Natan Sharansky

Oslo failed because it was based on the premise that a strong dictator would make a strong peace. If Abu Mazen is a willing partner in this effort, his government should receive legitimacy, financial aid, territory, and support for statehood. But if he is unwilling to do so, all support for his regime should be withheld. The Free World should focus on four areas:

Dissent. Under Arafat, the only freedom of speech or press was the freedom to criticize Israel. Abu Mazen must understand that the days of crushing democratic dissent are over. If Palestinian democrats know that the Free World will not allow the PA to act toward them with impunity, then an increasing number of democratic voices will be heard.

Education and Incitement. In any society, what is taught in public schools and broadcast on public airwaves is a good indication of the values that are being inculcated in its people. PA-run schools and the PA-controlled media have been used to poison a generation of Palestinians against Jews and Israel. The Free World must demand that this end immediately.

Refugee Camps. The Free World should express its willingness to fund a program that provides decent housing for those living in the camps. A PA leadership that rejects such a plan is not interested in the welfare of its own people and hence not a partner for peace.

Economic Independence. In a fear society, people are cogs of the regime. That is why one of the anchors of a free society is a middle class not dependent on government largess. (Wall Street Journal)

Arafat's Heir by Charles Krauthammer

Has no one learned anything? Abbas is running practically unopposed, and yet, on the question of both ends and means, he chooses to run as Yasser Arafat. During the decade of Oslo, Arafat's every statement of hatred, incitement and glorification of violence was waved away. In Abbas's first moment of real leadership, his long-anticipated emergence from the shadow of Arafat, he chooses to literally hoist the flag of the terrorist al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades. Can Abbas turn into a Sadat, who also emerged from the shadow of a charismatic leader, reversed policy and made peace with Israel? I'll believe it when I see it. And hear it. (Washington Post)

Abbas' Voice Resonates With Palestinians by David Makovsky

In his campaign speeches, Mahmoud Abbas repeatedly emphasized issues that would have been alien to his predecessor and longtime mentor, Yasser Arafat. He focused, for instance, on restoring rule of law and ending the fouda - or chaos - that has engulfed Palestinian life. He opposed corruption and vowed to enhance the role of women, improve the standard of living and confiscate illegal weapons - all issues that Arafat refused to discuss. Abbas consistently and pragmatically emphasized that violence is counterproductive to Palestinian aspirations for statehood.

But what wasn't clear until election day was whether Palestinians on the street were responding to his messages or whether they were locked into the angry, intifada-era conflict politics that Arafat for so long represented. Now an exit poll of 900 voters from the West Bank and Gaza, taken by Bir Zeit University outside Ramallah, suggests that indeed, most Palestinians are focused not on revenge or on continued suicide bombings but on a more forward-looking agenda of nation-building and a return to normalcy. Peace talks are high on the public agenda. (Los Angeles Times)

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